My father owned a Bonanza steakhouse in upstate New York in the seventies. What great memories . Thank you for this video! RIP Dad . Miss you. I will definitely visit this Bonanza and bring my children .
@user-kb8up3ww4y seems you were the only person who didn’t enjoy Bonanza . Everyone else seemed to enjoy it but you. It’s unfortunate you had a bad experience.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Lol a literal animal with the ranch dripped on the salad bar, then a generous amount of salt & pepper on that salad!
I grew up dirt poor so it was a rare treat to go to a restaurant. Bonanza was the usual pick and I have some real nostalgia about it. I remember loving the Swedish meatballs in gravy they had on the salad bar buffet. They used to also have specials offering all-you-can-eat shrimp. Eating as much as you want of good food when you're poor is like mana from heaven!
There were 600ish Old Country/HomeTown Buffet's during their peak of 2006, and followed the same decline- now they've all closed, but at one point Old Country Buffet and HomeTown Buffet were operating restaurants. Sad to see all these 80's and 90's popular restaurants gone.
I stopped at an Arby's somewhere in the back country in Pennsylvania a few years ago. They were still calling orders back to the kitchen using the microphone attached to the counter
Loved our Bonanza Steakhouse on Diamond Ave Evansville, IN. With this one I'm going back to 1975. I remember how it takes you back to nature no computers till early '80's and looked like the one your in! But the food looked exactly the same. Building still there. A barn shape but really big. A treat for us to go out then. I was 11. I got the steak then small sirloin always well done juicy the best steak!!! baked potato, green beans. It was a sit down resteraunt no salad bar yet. I miss it. Everytime I pass that building I see the Bonanza sign and it on the front of the building. Really great food!
Thank you sir for this nostalgic trip back into my youth as I was a frequent visitor to Bonanza Steak House here in Columbus, Ohio during my teens and twenties, which would be in the 1970's & 80's. My particular location used to stand at Main St. and McNaughton Road on the Reynoldsburg--Columbus line beside I-270. It closed sometime in the mid-1990's. I believe. Great food and the salad bar was such a bonus for me! The place was a particularly favorite place for my High School lover-girl, Donna, and I. Many a good dinner was eaten there! Ironically, Mr. Beantown, I looked up this location and you literally enjoyed one of the final meals served as the location closed permanently after 35 years on June 30, 2020 because of the pandemic.
We used to eat at this particular location all the time. Haven’t been there in about 15 years, and I need to go back soon. The location that was in South Portland Maine, I fell in their parking lot when I was 2, and I now have a scar just to the side of my nose.
When I was 16 I worked for bonanza started at dishes. Tuesday night special 6 oz sirloin bowl with salad Texas toast baked potato one of the best jobs I've ever had. Worked there for 10 years into management. My favorite job was cooking steaks.
First time I ever had steak as a kid was at Bonanza Steakhouse in Athens,GA. I remember there were pictures all over the place of the Cartwrights from the TV show "Bonanza". We usually went on Friday night as a treat.
Bonanza still exists?! I am shooketh! I love that they kept a lot of it the same, so nostalgic ❤ only thing missing is the window that had the sweet corn on a stick 😂 oh and the big block of cheese at the salad bar that you'd slice yourself. I spent a LOT of time in my childhood in the 80's at Bonanza. Loved growing up in the 80's, a much simpler time!
@@EricIsMagic you got it, gave ya a sub just for this because after watching this we discovered there is a Bonanza about 2 hrs from us! Road trip in our near future ❤
We had one in Tampa, fl in the same shopping center with a woolco and Winn dixie. all gone now. apple bee's is where Bonanza used to be. it was the first ( non fast food ) restaurant i remember going to. this was the 70's. don't remember it being open in the 80's. i heard there was another one in north side of Tampa also.
I’ve been to that location several times. Unfortunately they are closing at the end of the month, as they cannot survive the COVID-19. It is a great place to eat, however, to me it is more like the late 80’s Ponderosa/Bonanza than the classic Bonanza I used to love in the 70’s. The old Bonanza restaurants were shaped like a barn somewhat, had big wooden doors in the front and the word “BONANZA” in big western typeface above the door. The inside vibe was very western, as well. Branding irons, wagon wheels, animal skins on the walls, I think in the 80’s (which was when our local Bonanza closed) they rebranded and tried to get away from that western look (new logo, more modern building). Also, a few subtle differences in the food itself. They used to put a sprig of parsley on the plate and you’d get a thick piece of Texas Toast as well, neither of which they do anymore. Also, the soup, desert, and veggies were part of the “lunch line” procedure, the salad bar only had salad fixins, no chicken wings, mac and cheese, etc. But, even though it was more like an 80’s Bonanza than a 70’s Bonanza, it was still a fun part of my yearly trips up to Saco and I will miss it a lot..
You look like a young Stephen Colbert. Great video. I don’t think I ever went to a Bonanza steak house as a kid, I was born in 1962, so I think they would’ve been around when I was a kid (live in NYC). We had something called Steak Loft back in the 1970s & 1980s, and it seems pretty similar. Also Beefsteak Charlie’s.
My friend's family took me with them to our local Bonanza Steakhouse in Sunnybank, Brisbane, Australia every so often. I loved it. This is back in the late 70s when I was about 10 years old. I would order a huge hotdog and was always blown away by the size of it. It closed long ago. One wouldn't be popular there now. Sunnybank is filled with Chinese and Hong Kongese immigrants.
@@EricIsMagic Yes it is. I actually missed a Bonanza up in Wisconsin, so there are 5. I live in Central IL, and the last Bonanza in IL was in Lincoln, which closed in 2018. I run a RUclips channel called Restaurant Rewind, and I am releasing a new video this morning (been 3 years since my last video - yikes!) on Bonanza and Ponderosa. I am trying a new format, although I am not yet sure if I like it. I am not really satisfied with the way the video turned out. I may have to go back to the way I was doing it before. Anyway, I thought you might be interested. It goes live at 11am CST.
When i was a teenager I worked at a couple Bonanzas. Fun fact, Bonanza cheese on the salad bar was imitation. So was the egg :) But daaaaang those steaks were good. I have a lotta good memories working there. Definitely a great job for a teenager
Does not surprise me one bit about the cheese and egg. Nobody really goes for the salad bar at a steak house anyway, the steak is the shinning star. Thanks for watching.
Worked there in 1973. My location was the barn style with orange roof. Tues. night dinner specials: chopped sirloin 1.99, ribeye 2.99. One single file line that reached the outside of the perimeter of the building. No self service drink lines tho..lol this place as well as our local ponderosa provided lots of jobs for highschool kids. Also no rolls just fabulous texas toast.
Wow I thought they all closed. My first job as a teenager was waiting tables at a Bonanza steak house. My favorite thing to eat there was the steak tips and the rolls.
We use to have a Bonanza here in Augusta, Maine years ago that was absolutely incredible! I don't know why they went out of business. I loved their buffet, and use to order their N.Y. Sorloin Tips with a Salad. Another great place to dine is at "The Old Country Buffet" in Portland, Maine.
Wow!!!! There used 2 be one Lancaster, Texas back when I was a kid!!!!. It was off I-35 & Pleasant Run Road along the service road. I used to live in the neighborhood that was behind the restaurant. The building was in the shape of a barn. It was red with white trim. I'm very surprised that they still exist!!!!
We had Ponderosa in the Midwest went there alot as a kid I miss it it was really good when they focused on just steak and the salad bar it went downhill when they focused more on buffets
I've been to the Bonanza Steakhouse out in Chambersburg PA. And there are very few Ponderosas left as well. In Ohio where I'm from there is one in Carrollton, and another in Calcutta
You didn't mention the big chunk of Texas Toast you'd get with it. Yes I did like Bonanza. I understand that it was originally founded by Dan Blocker. We'd go as a family when I was a child and it was a treat and a nice time for all. thanks for the video. I enjoyed watching this video like stepping back in time, except for the prices.
Yaaaaas! There was a Bananza in hometown of Texarkana, Texas. I ate there when I was a kid all the time I’m Shocked that a few STILL exist! The interior of ours was slightly different but same concept with the ticket and the trays and salad bar and stuff. This bring back good memories of having dinner with my parents.
This was probably one of the latter one's built, Older ones were a Barn shaped building and a lot bigger, The one where I live here in Baytown Texas closed around 1986-87, Building is still there it's a Pawnshop now :(
I worked at Bonanza in New Westminster BC CAN. in early 90's. Our Set up was you picked up your tray picked up your drink (Me) and ordered what you wanted at the cashier. we didn't have Salad bar till my second year in.
Only 2 of the original buildings still exist here today, 1 a sports bar and the other a BBQ restaurant. 3 other restaurants failed at the BBQ location after Bonanza.
Well Done, Beantown! [yes, a poorly cooked steakhouse pun] ... You preserved a bit of Americana with this video. Sadly, this location closed down permanently on June 30, 2020, due to Covid, a mere FOUR MONTHS after your visit. Just in the nick of time. Great work :~) ... At time of writing, Google Maps is only showing 5 remaining locations left. Covid must have claimed 3 of them since you uploaded this vid :~(
Thank you very much for watching and your comments. I know also that the Sanford, ME location had closed. Very sad. I‘ll try to find another location on my side of the country and do a companion video to this one.
I wonder if they know people go out of their way to visit. I know I do! I've been to Bonanzas and Ponderosas all over. I even took my life in my hands to go to Gary, Indiana to visit one.
just like I remember it back in the day, we'd go on a Wednesday when they had the $3.99 buffet and $4.99 sirloin steak and buffet deals, if it was 4 of us, we'd order 2 steaks and 2 buffets, and each would share one of the steaks between two of us. Sad COVID probably killed these few locations left.
@@c82richard Fayetteville, Rogers, Bentonville, Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Bartlesville, Oklahoma. And there was one that I never saw in Springfield Missouri. A brief time in Fort Smith Arkansas.
OK thanks. I grew up eating at the ones in Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama. Columbus lost its last Bonanza in 1996 when it became a Logan's Roadhouse which is also now closed and a Korean BBQ restaurant took its spot. The building looked similar to the one in this video. The oldest Bonanza in Columbus and first to close of 3 was the only one that had the barn look. The Phenix City location held on till about 2005 and was the last remaining Bonanza in the state of Alabama. All these locations were under the same owner. I also ate in Tupelo, MS Bonanza three days before it closed and it was the last remaining Bonanza in Mississippi or the South for that matter other than the Lebanon, VA location. I took pictures of it. It is now demolished
Thank you for your observation. I cleaned it up immediately after I turned the camera off for the next scene. Hard filming with one hand and dressing a salad with the other. All the best.
@@EricIsMagic That’s awesome to hear. I worked in a Bonanza back in 1973 and 1974. It was a great restaurant concept. Unfortunately, times changed and peoples’ expectations of service and menu evolved. Bonanza did not and they died.
I am glad you filmed this location before it closed....l have a Bonanza Coffee mug on my desk at home...It says Bonanza ..Where everyday is Father's day..
the two bonanza restaurants closest to me both mysteriously burnt down back in 2010. i wonder if there’s a reason why they both burnt down the same way.
Sadly, the closest in the restaurant family (Ponderosa) is several hours east (almost 5) in IL. The closest Bonanza is 7 and a half hours north up in St Cloud, MN. Dang.
My father owned a Bonanza steakhouse in upstate New York in the seventies. What great memories . Thank you for this video! RIP Dad . Miss you. I will definitely visit this Bonanza and bring my children .
What a great memory! Thanks for sharing.
@user-kb8up3ww4y seems you were the only person who didn’t enjoy Bonanza . Everyone else seemed to enjoy it but you. It’s unfortunate you had a bad experience.
My parents used to take us to Ponderosa all the time, I can still remember that flame broiled smell when you walk in.
Classic!
the smell of death...😂😂😂👍
@@iggypopisgod9 i always thought it resembled warm water being poured over dog food! 😂
Ikr! I thought we we're eating fancy schmancy back then😂😂😂
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Lol a literal animal with the ranch dripped on the salad bar, then a generous amount of salt & pepper on that salad!
Thank you!! LOL
I feel your excitement brother! I loved Bonanza Steakhouse when I was a kid. I had all the memories watching this video! Wish there were more around!
Thanks for sharing your memory.
Wow, thank you for taking me back on such great childhood memories! 😊 #nostalgia #goodtimes
@@350z70 you’re so welcome. Thank you for watching.
I grew up dirt poor so it was a rare treat to go to a restaurant. Bonanza was the usual pick and I have some real nostalgia about it. I remember loving the Swedish meatballs in gravy they had on the salad bar buffet. They used to also have specials offering all-you-can-eat shrimp. Eating as much as you want of good food when you're poor is like mana from heaven!
Thank you for sharing your story and for watching.
There were 600ish Old Country/HomeTown Buffet's during their peak of 2006, and followed the same decline- now they've all closed, but at one point Old Country Buffet and HomeTown Buffet were operating restaurants. Sad to see all these 80's and 90's popular restaurants gone.
I agree with you completely. ☹️
This town needs a Blockbuster
Indeed. That would make the town a complete throwback. Tragically I think there is only one Blockbuster left in the entire world.
@@EricIsMagic yes in my home state; Bend, OR
Fun video! We watched this live on my Twitch stream. We're all Bonanza fans! I used to go to the one in St Cloud, MN all the time.
That’s awesome. Do you have a replay of the twitch stream I can watch?
I am eating one of their signature burgers right now Excellent ❤.
Which location were you at while eating the burger, as there are not many left.
@@EricIsMagic New Columbia, PA
I stopped at an Arby's somewhere in the back country in Pennsylvania a few years ago. They were still calling orders back to the kitchen using the microphone attached to the counter
That’s cool. These old school throw backs are so much fun.
Thanks for being such a good narrator. You made me feel like driving all the way from Denver just to eat there.
That’s really nice of you to say. Thanks so much for watching and for commenting. I appreciate the support.
"I tell you, this steak still has marks where the jockey was hitting it!"
That’s hilarious! I just laughed out loud for 10 seconds. Haha
Sure enough. You had to use a lot of steak sauce on these to make them palatable. Don't know who was worse, Bonanza or Ponderosa.
@@liraloo or sizzler. Sizzler? just met her
I loved the steakhouses in the 70s. Ponderosa, Sizzler and others. Bonanza was a favorite always.
I totally agree!
Absolutely loved the fried chicken livers from there when I was growing up.
Thanks for commenting and sharing your memory about Bonanza Steakhouse! 😁
Wow thank you for the trip down memory lane. Looks like we need a trip to Maine. I have such fond memories of this place. Thank you again.
You’re very welcome. It was so surreal when I first walked in. Amazing memories. Thanks for watching.
Sadly they are closed down now
@@gangansgrubs forever, or just during the pandemic?
Forever.😢
@@gangansgrubs that’s awful! There is still one in Presque Isle, Maine
Childhood memories unlocked. Thank you
You’re so welcome. Thanks for watching and commenting on the video! 👍🏼
Thanks so much for this video! It brought back great memories of my dear parents taking me when I was a child. 😊😊😊
☺️
Loved our Bonanza Steakhouse on Diamond Ave Evansville, IN. With this one I'm going back to 1975. I remember how it takes you back to nature no computers till early '80's and looked like the one your in! But the food looked exactly the same. Building still there. A barn shape but really big. A treat for us to go out then. I was 11. I
got the steak then small sirloin always well done juicy the best steak!!! baked potato, green beans. It was a sit down resteraunt no salad bar yet. I miss it. Everytime I pass that building I see the Bonanza sign and it on the front of the building. Really great food!
Thanks for sharing this memory, exactly why I wanted to make this video. 🙂👍🏼
Thank you sir for this nostalgic trip back into my youth as I was a frequent visitor to Bonanza Steak House here in Columbus, Ohio during my teens and twenties, which would be in the 1970's & 80's. My particular location used to stand at Main St. and McNaughton Road on the Reynoldsburg--Columbus line beside I-270. It closed sometime in the mid-1990's. I believe. Great food and the salad bar was such a bonus for me! The place was a particularly favorite place for my High School lover-girl, Donna, and I. Many a good dinner was eaten there! Ironically, Mr. Beantown, I looked up this location and you literally enjoyed one of the final meals served as the location closed permanently after 35 years on June 30, 2020 because of the pandemic.
Thank you for watching and for your kind and wonderful story about your experience with Bonanza!
That was so much fun. I miss the old days..soup or salad, entree and dessert
Yeah, I agree totally! Thanks for watching and for subscribing. 👍
We used to eat at this particular location all the time. Haven’t been there in about 15 years, and I need to go back soon.
The location that was in South Portland Maine, I fell in their parking lot when I was 2, and I now have a scar just to the side of my nose.
Unfortunately you cannot go to this location ever again as they closed due to the pandemic and could not afford to remain open.
@@EricIsMagic Oh damn :( I was too late.
@@BfDelano 🥺😢
When I was 16 I worked for bonanza started at dishes. Tuesday night special 6 oz sirloin bowl with salad Texas toast baked potato one of the best jobs I've ever had. Worked there for 10 years into management. My favorite job was cooking steaks.
Thanks for sharing the memory.
First time I ever had steak as a kid was at Bonanza Steakhouse in Athens,GA. I remember there were pictures all over the place of the Cartwrights from the TV show "Bonanza". We usually went on Friday night as a treat.
I usually went on Friday nights too! Thanks for watching. 👍
Last time I went to a Bonanza Steak House was in Fargo ND in June of 1995. Our Bonanza closed in East Peoria IL December 1987.
Thanks for sharing.
Bonanza still exists?! I am shooketh! I love that they kept a lot of it the same, so nostalgic ❤ only thing missing is the window that had the sweet corn on a stick 😂 oh and the big block of cheese at the salad bar that you'd slice yourself. I spent a LOT of time in my childhood in the 80's at Bonanza. Loved growing up in the 80's, a much simpler time!
Melissa Z I agree with everything you said. Growing up in the 80’s was so much simpler. Thanks for watching the video. I really appreciate it.
@@EricIsMagic you got it, gave ya a sub just for this because after watching this we discovered there is a Bonanza about 2 hrs from us! Road trip in our near future ❤
Melissa Z thank you so much for subscribing! I appreciate the support. 👍😊
Ba! I wish I grew up in the 80s instead of the 90s! But then again growing up in the 90s was semi-simple!
Unfortunately that bonanza is gone now.
Think u got enough ranch on the bar?
I cleaned it up after immediately filming this scene. Kind of hard to clean up ranch while filming with one hand and carrying a plate with another.
We had one in Tampa, fl in the same shopping center with a woolco and Winn dixie. all gone now. apple bee's is where Bonanza used to be. it was the first ( non fast food ) restaurant i remember going to. this was the 70's. don't remember it being open in the 80's. i heard there was another one in north side of Tampa also.
Not too many of these classic restaurants left. Thanks for watching.
That was getting a good steak back in the day I sure do miss them too wish we had more than just eight left
The Bonanza steakhouse sauce was so good. Kinda like A-1 steak sauce but more sweet.
I’ve been to that location several times. Unfortunately they are closing at the end of the month, as they cannot survive the COVID-19. It is a great place to eat, however, to me it is more like the late 80’s Ponderosa/Bonanza than the classic Bonanza I used to love in the 70’s. The old Bonanza restaurants were shaped like a barn somewhat, had big wooden doors in the front and the word “BONANZA” in big western typeface above the door. The inside vibe was very western, as well. Branding irons, wagon wheels, animal skins on the walls, I think in the 80’s (which was when our local Bonanza closed) they rebranded and tried to get away from that western look (new logo, more modern building). Also, a few subtle differences in the food itself. They used to put a sprig of parsley on the plate and you’d get a thick piece of Texas Toast as well, neither of which they do anymore. Also, the soup, desert, and veggies were part of the “lunch line” procedure, the salad bar only had salad fixins, no chicken wings, mac and cheese, etc. But, even though it was more like an 80’s Bonanza than a 70’s Bonanza, it was still a fun part of my yearly trips up to Saco and I will miss it a lot..
Peter Bowers oh that’s awful.
Corona Virus , Kazakhstan
This place looks like the birthplace of Covid 19, and many other diseases😐
Remember the heavy dark wooden tables and benches back in the 70s
Sure do!
Dude this bring back memories
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.
You look like a young Stephen Colbert.
Great video. I don’t think I ever went to a Bonanza steak house as a kid, I was born in 1962, so I think they would’ve been around when I was a kid (live in NYC).
We had something called Steak Loft back in the 1970s & 1980s, and it seems pretty similar. Also Beefsteak Charlie’s.
A young Stephen Colbert, huh? I’ll take that. 😁
Why so rough with them tongs at the salad bar lol
I was extremely gentle with the tongs I thought. 😂😅🤣
When I was a kid I went to Bonanza steakhouse in Joplin Missouri in 1980s and 1990s
So cool. Thanks for sharing.
My friend's family took me with them to our local Bonanza Steakhouse in Sunnybank, Brisbane, Australia every so often. I loved it. This is back in the late 70s when I was about 10 years old. I would order a huge hotdog and was always blown away by the size of it. It closed long ago. One wouldn't be popular there now. Sunnybank is filled with Chinese and Hong Kongese immigrants.
Thanks for watching.
Awesome! what a blast from the past!
I know right?!?! I am going to give them a call in a few weeks and see if they are still open. Shame if they close.
And now there are 4....3 in PA and 1 in VA
It’s so sad…🥺
@@EricIsMagic Yes it is. I actually missed a Bonanza up in Wisconsin, so there are 5. I live in Central IL, and the last Bonanza in IL was in Lincoln, which closed in 2018. I run a RUclips channel called Restaurant Rewind, and I am releasing a new video this morning (been 3 years since my last video - yikes!) on Bonanza and Ponderosa. I am trying a new format, although I am not yet sure if I like it. I am not really satisfied with the way the video turned out. I may have to go back to the way I was doing it before. Anyway, I thought you might be interested. It goes live at 11am CST.
@@EricIsMagic Here's the link, if you are interested: ruclips.net/video/UvRlaQ3wzwE/видео.html
When i was a teenager I worked at a couple Bonanzas. Fun fact, Bonanza cheese on the salad bar was imitation. So was the egg :)
But daaaaang those steaks were good. I have a lotta good memories working there. Definitely a great job for a teenager
Does not surprise me one bit about the cheese and egg. Nobody really goes for the salad bar at a steak house anyway, the steak is the shinning star. Thanks for watching.
You know The Last Blockbuster in Oregon still uses an MS-DOS IBM computer from the early 90s.
Quite ironic that this is in Sanford Maine. And this is a Bush #41-era restaurant and it is not far from the Bush compound in Kennebunkport.
When I was a kid they had a big block of cheese, tacos, and an ice cream bar.
Classic Bonanza! Thanks for watching g!
I miss it so much. I’m from Gary Indiana and we had one in the Miller area. 🥲🥲🥲
It’s a nostalgic place.
Myself and two other white guys got routed via GPS down through Gary at like 2am😬
That happened in 2007. Happy to be here watching this review 😄👍
@@juicepick7131 ✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿
Worked there in 1973. My location was the barn style with orange roof. Tues. night dinner specials: chopped sirloin 1.99, ribeye 2.99. One single file line that reached the outside of the perimeter of the building. No self service drink lines tho..lol this place as well as our local ponderosa provided lots of jobs for highschool kids. Also no rolls just fabulous texas toast.
Exactly how I remembered the one I went to as a kid. Yummy!!!
Wow I thought they all closed. My first job as a teenager was waiting tables at a Bonanza steak house. My favorite thing to eat there was the steak tips and the rolls.
Rolls are yummy, but the ribeye steak is sooooooo good! Thanks for watching.
We had one in Dayton Ohio and a ponderosa a block away I was always a bonanza guy didn't find out until I was an adult that they were the same company
That’s a funny story. Thanks for watching! 👍
We had one in High Point NC use to love it
Amazing!!! Thanks for sharing.
We use to have a Bonanza here in Augusta, Maine years ago that was absolutely incredible! I don't know why they went out of business. I loved their buffet, and use to order their N.Y. Sorloin Tips with a Salad. Another great place to dine is at "The Old Country Buffet" in Portland, Maine.
I used to go to the Augusta one all the time. Big red roof if I remember correctly.
@@EricIsMagic: Yes, correct.
I used to work at the one on sawmill road in West Haven, Connecticut 1985 thru 1987.
Amazing! Sad it’s closed.
Kazakhstan 2020
BONANZA!!! You looked sooo happy about the steak sauce! 🤣😂
I was happy in general. It was such a childhood throwback. I was loving every moment of it.
@@EricIsMagic Didn't know you did these reviews. I'll have to watch them! Lisa Mendes 😊
I love how tjey kept it the same!
Me too!!!
Should have gotten the chicken Monterey!!!!
You do not go to a Bonanza Steakhouse and order chicken! 🤷♂️🤦♂️
The bonanza we had in Danville V.A. was designed like a barn. We loved that place. Hated it when it closed.
Yeah the one I grew up next to as a kid was designed like a barn too. Memories.
Wow!!!! There used 2 be one Lancaster, Texas back when I was a kid!!!!. It was off I-35 & Pleasant Run Road along the service road. I used to live in the neighborhood that was behind the restaurant. The building was in the shape of a barn. It was red with white trim. I'm very surprised that they still exist!!!!
Very few of them left. The old country western theme was great! Corn in the cob dipped in butter was a staple.
Bonanza was my first job in 1976 St. Clair Shores MI
Very cool!
Nostalgia sure is expensive for what you get.
That’s so true!
u mean explosive bowels? 😂😂😂
My late father's first job was at Bonanza Steakhouse.
Thanks for sharing that memory.
Wow!! It still looks the same!!
Tastes the same too!!!
@@EricIsMagic I gotta go there, I still remember how slammen the food was
@@toxichammertoe8696 nothing like a Bonanza steak!
We had Ponderosa in the Midwest went there alot as a kid I miss it it was really good when they focused on just steak and the salad bar it went downhill when they focused more on buffets
That’s very true
OMG the memories!!
Thank you so much for saying that. Main reason I did this video was to honor the memory of it all.
Thanks so much for this video !
loved that place / always cooked to order . no problems ,, great atmosphere . miss it !!!!
Really was a nice old throwback. So sad to see it gone. Glad I got in before they closed.
I've been to the Bonanza Steakhouse out in Chambersburg PA. And there are very few Ponderosas left as well. In Ohio where I'm from there is one in Carrollton, and another in Calcutta
Matt Hybel yeah so few left. Only 8. Thanks for watching. Please consider subscribing to our channel.
@@EricIsMagic Now there are 7.
Fritz Duchardt 😢
I used to go to Ponderosa in the 80’s a lot. Hard to find today
I know, it’s sad that more of them are not open still. Such a nostalgic throwback.
Didn't know there were any left !
It was dad's favorite!
Such a nostalgic throwback for sure!
I wonder if Bush #41 and Mrs. Bush ate there. They had a place in nearby Kennebunkport.
We need a Bonanza Steakhouse in Albany, NY!
(We had a Ponderosa years ago.)
Bonanza just needs to make a National comeback!
Hopefully after covid passes
You didn't mention the big chunk of Texas Toast you'd get with it. Yes I did like Bonanza. I understand that it was originally founded by Dan Blocker. We'd go as a family when I was a child and it was a treat and a nice time for all.
thanks for the video. I enjoyed watching this video like stepping back in time, except for the prices.
Thank you so much.
Yaaaaas! There was a Bananza in hometown of Texarkana, Texas. I ate there when I was a kid all the time I’m Shocked that a few STILL exist! The interior of ours was slightly different but same concept with the ticket and the trays and salad bar and stuff. This bring back good memories of having dinner with my parents.
Thank you so much for sharing your story.
I ate there going to Arkansas❤
This was probably one of the latter one's built, Older ones were a Barn shaped building and a lot bigger, The one where I live here in Baytown Texas closed around 1986-87, Building is still there it's a Pawnshop now :(
So sad the hear that…🙁
0:36 8 is less than 10? Whoa. I'm gonna need some time to process that.
Regardless, thank you for the review!
Hahaha! Yes 8 is most definitely less than 10. 😅🤷♂️
I worked at Bonanza in New Westminster BC CAN. in early 90's. Our Set up was you picked up your tray picked up your drink (Me) and ordered what you wanted at the cashier. we didn't have Salad bar till my second year in.
Oh an our uni's were Blue and Grey...not Maroon an Khaki
So cool. Thanks for the comparison of the two locations and for watching.
Oh my God we had a ponderosa steakhouse growing up and they turned it into an apple bees many years ago.
Such a shame. Should have left it alone.
@@EricIsMagic I think it went out of business in the late 90s.
@@Oldsmobilef85 sad sad sad. These family steakhouses were the best.
@@EricIsMagic yes they were I miss buffet style restaurants.
Something that sounds so Texas and Western, Ponderosa and Bonanza, and the only ones left are in the Northeast and Midwest. Crazy...
That’s true!!!
LOVE Bonanza!
I know, right! So good!!!
Only 2 of the original buildings still exist here today, 1 a sports bar and the other a BBQ restaurant. 3 other restaurants failed at the BBQ location after Bonanza.
😥
Well Done, Beantown! [yes, a poorly cooked steakhouse pun] ... You preserved a bit of Americana with this video. Sadly, this location closed down permanently on June 30, 2020, due to Covid, a mere FOUR MONTHS after your visit. Just in the nick of time. Great work :~) ... At time of writing, Google Maps is only showing 5 remaining locations left. Covid must have claimed 3 of them since you uploaded this vid :~(
Thank you very much for watching and your comments. I know also that the Sanford, ME location had closed. Very sad. I‘ll try to find another location on my side of the country and do a companion video to this one.
@@EricIsMagic Looking forward to it!
We had several in Texas the two closest to me closed and are now occupied by pawn shops .
Ours in St Cloud MN is closing at the end of October
😭
Sadly the Sanford ME Bonanza has now permanently closed.
Yeah I know. I got this video done right in time. At least we have the memory preserved on tape.
Bonanza rules!
Agreed!
Are there any in TN
There are 5 locations in Puerto Rico still, so there are actually 13 left in the US.
Cornelius Williams I should have said continental United States.
@@EricIsMagic WE GOT BONANZA AND PONDEROSA HERE IN PR..
I wonder if they know people go out of their way to visit. I know I do! I've been to Bonanzas and Ponderosas all over. I even took my life in my hands to go to Gary, Indiana to visit one.
Wow, cool.
Yeah, but doesn't taste anywhere close to the same as the 70's ones did. Nothing really does anymore that still exist.
next vid: OG dine in style Pizza Hut
The olde Hut! 😂
just like I remember it back in the day, we'd go on a Wednesday when they had the $3.99 buffet and $4.99 sirloin steak and buffet deals, if it was 4 of us, we'd order 2 steaks and 2 buffets, and each would share one of the steaks between two of us. Sad COVID probably killed these few locations left.
Such a great memory. Thanks for sharing. Yeah, the location I filmed this at has since closed due to Covid. 😕
When or if you’re traveling and come across another location please please please post it. Thank in advance.
Sorry typing much too fast thanks in advance
@@gangansgrubs will do!!! 👍
I worked a chain of 7 Bonanzas for a few years in the late 80s. Some of the best times of my life. Thanks!
Very cool. Thanks for sharing. V
Very cool. Thanks for sharing. V
In what region did you work in?
@@c82richard Fayetteville, Rogers, Bentonville, Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Bartlesville, Oklahoma. And there was one that I never saw in Springfield Missouri. A brief time in Fort Smith Arkansas.
OK thanks. I grew up eating at the ones in Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama. Columbus lost its last Bonanza in 1996 when it became a Logan's Roadhouse which is also now closed and a Korean BBQ restaurant took its spot. The building looked similar to the one in this video. The oldest Bonanza in Columbus and first to close of 3 was the only one that had the barn look. The Phenix City location held on till about 2005 and was the last remaining Bonanza in the state of Alabama. All these locations were under the same owner. I also ate in Tupelo, MS Bonanza three days before it closed and it was the last remaining Bonanza in Mississippi or the South for that matter other than the Lebanon, VA location. I took pictures of it. It is now demolished
You were quite messy serving you salad dressing. Take your time and be more considerate of the next person.
Thank you for your observation. I cleaned it up immediately after I turned the camera off for the next scene. Hard filming with one hand and dressing a salad with the other. All the best.
@@EricIsMagic That’s awesome to hear. I worked in a Bonanza back in 1973 and 1974. It was a great restaurant concept. Unfortunately, times changed and peoples’ expectations of service and menu evolved. Bonanza did not and they died.
Sad, is showing that location you went to is now closed. Now 4 are left 3 in PA and 1 in VA.
Very sad indeed.
I am glad you filmed this location before it closed....l have a Bonanza Coffee mug on my desk at home...It says Bonanza ..Where everyday is Father's day..
Dickinson nd used to have one but i didn't get to go😢 Butttttt i am building one out of paper and card bord!
@@jennbinstock8859 hahaha
how come you didn't clean up your ranch slop man?
Would have made for a bad video. Waited until the camera was off to wipe it up. 👍
@@EricIsMagic ha! What a king!! Thanks for the reply :)
@@Unk you’re welcome. Thanks for watching.
the two bonanza restaurants closest to me both mysteriously burnt down back in 2010. i wonder if there’s a reason why they both burnt down the same way.
Probably they were burnt down by the samevperson!
Because they were dumpster fires.
I miss this restaurant I live in barboursville, west Virginia
It’s such a nice throwback restaurant. Brought back nice memories going to it.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Wish there were still some in Louisiana.
I wholeheartedly agree!
I miss York Steak House
I typically go to one about 2.5 hours away from me
Which one?
@@EricIsMagic Chambersburg, PA
@@richardterroni9433 thanks
Great video, but back in the 80's NOBODY had to worry about being video recorded everywhere they go, nothing seems to be off limits these days.
🙂
Falls under the First Amendment Rights.
@@chass5438 absolutely correct
Sadly, the closest in the restaurant family (Ponderosa) is several hours east (almost 5) in IL. The closest Bonanza is 7 and a half hours north up in St Cloud, MN. Dang.
That would be a long drive for a steak.